Pettis (15-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who is riding a three-fight winning streak including a recent unanimous decision win over John Moraga at UFC Fight Night 103 in January, said he knows he’s eventually going to find himself in the octagon with Johnson (25-2-1 MMA, 13-1-1 UFC) should he continue to dominant the flyweight division as he has since its inception in 2012.

At just 23, though, Pettis said he’s in no rush to make that happen.

“Obviously the whole goal is to be the champion,” Pettis told fans at a Saturday fan Q&A session ahead of the weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night 105 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. “I’ve got to take my time and go through the rankings. I’ve got a lot of people in front of me I’ve got to get through and keep performing like I did in my last fight and keep getting comfortable in the octagon.”

Benoit and Cacares are the only fighters to defeat Pettis, and in both those fights the Roufusport product and brother of former UFC champ Anthony Pettis was winning before being caught in a fight-ending sequence.

Although he would still have an undefeated record if those slip-ups did not occur, Pettis admits each setback has been crucial to his growing process. Moreover, he believes the outcomes will help him be a better fighter when he eventually does reach the top.

“Of course I would like to get those fights back, but I think those fights are necessary for my career,” Pettis said. “I feel like those losses made me realize how much I love the sport and the stuff I could work on to get better and better. A loss is a loss in life, in fighting. You’ve got two routes: Get better, or get bitter. I definitely think I got better.”

As far as his immediate future goes, Pettis said he’s not entirely sure what’s next. The UFC has recently had an exodus of 125-pound talent with contenders Kyoji Horiguchi, Ali Bagautinov and Zach Makovsky all parting ways with the promotion. Pettis had yet to fight any of those names, and with most around him in the rankings either booked, injured or coming off a loss, he doesn’t know what his next matchup is going to look like.

“(I’m) still waiting,” Pettis said. “I have to see where the flyweight division goes. Everyone who I want to fight right now has a fight. I’ll just wait and see what happens.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.